With more wins than any boys soccer coach in Wisconsin high school history, Harry Kelderman has announced his retirement after 36 seasons as head coach at Neenah High School.
Kelderman, 71, led the Rockets to 28 Fox Valley Association championships and had a winning record every season. He has coached in more WIAA state soccer tournaments than any other coach with 16 appearances. Kelderman led the Rockets to three state championships in 1985, 1986 and 2007. He also coached Neenah to runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1991.
Kelderman’s career record with the boys program is 603-143-55 for a .787 career winning percentage. He also coached one season as the interim girls soccer coach at Neenah in 2010, posting a 22-5-1 record and leading the Rockets to the WIAA state semifinals. Prior to coming to Neenah, he coached at Lawrence University from 1974-79 and compiled a 47-20-2 record, giving him 672 career victories at all levels.
Kelderman was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011. He was one of the founders of the Paper Valley Youth Soccer program that is now known as the Neenah Soccer Club with 20 teams at various levels.
"Harry's name will forever be synonymous with Neenah soccer and he and his teams set the benchmark for quality soccer in the Fox Valley area and throughout Wisconsin," said Activities Director Nate Werner, who also coached and played against Kelderman’s teams numerous times before coming to Neenah. "It is impossible to summarize what Harry has meant to this school and the soccer community."
Kelderman coached three Gatorade Wisconsin Players of the Year in Adam Pohlman in 2014, Stuart Grable in 2008 and his son, Kris, in 1987. Kris went on to star at the University of Virginia and in Major League Soccer. He is currently the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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